The Photographer's Truth

Ian Baines seems to have it all—a career as a hotshot software programmer in Silicon Valley, a beautiful wife and family, a nice house in an upscale San Francisco neighborhood, and a past that he’s mostly managed to forget. Life takes an unexpected turn for Ian when he finds himself in Paris for a three-month work project where he meets former fashion photographer Luca Sparks. The unlikely friendship grows and Ian sees a new side to life as Luca takes him on a journey through the glamorous and lustrous Paris nightlife. But something strange starts to happen during their adventures in Paris—the two start to fall in love. Both battle their own demons on the road to self-discovery, ultimately learning how to come to peace with their feelings and their pasts.

Lambda Literary says...

Outwardly, Ian Baines’ life has all the clichéd trappings of success: a rising career as a software programmer at a Silicon Valley start-up; a beautiful, accomplished wife; two above-average sons; a fabulous house in an upscale San Francisco neighborhood. The long hours at his job, however, begin to strain his marriage and threaten to unravel his perfect family life. Against his better judgement, then, he accepts a three-month work project based in Paris, creating a database of the fashion house Môti’s collection. While in Paris, alone, he meets the former fashion photographer Luca Sparks who introduces him to the Paris that is hidden from tourists, and together they enjoy the glamorous Parisian nightlife. Their unlikely friendship soon develops into something deeper, until finally Ian is forced to make a choice.

Such is the basic story behind The Photographer’s Truth by Ralph Josiah Bardsley. The two protagonists appear to share little in common: Ian, the unkempt and logical American contrasts with the impeccable, artistic, and cosmopolitan Frenchman Luca. But neither man is entirely what he seems on the surface: for example, buried in their pasts are Ian’s single sexual experience with another man, and Luca’s marriage to a female photojournalist. Ian, in typical American fashion, is rather out of touch with his feelings, so it takes a while for what is obvious to the reader to dawn on him, namely that Luca is attracted to him and is courting him. Perhaps it is Ian’s liberal Californian upbringing, or being thrust into a milieu so different from his normal world, but Ian is not consumed with feelings of “I can’t be gay or Bi”; instead he is consumed by guilt over cheating on his wife.

Bardsley allows the relationship between the two men to develop at a believable pace; as the narrative unfolds, we gradually learn more about the two men at the center of the story, and how they evolve over the course of the romance. Ian narrates the story, so it is clear to the reader how drastically his attitudes and life change; but when Ian meets Luca’s friends, and through them learns Luca’s backstory, it becomes apparent to him (and the reader) that their relationship has also changed Luca. A notorious recluse, once he meets Ian he begins ignoring even his close circle of friends; he also quits smoking.

It used to be said that “the camera doesn’t lie”—at least without irony before the advent of Photoshop and Instagram filters—but the truth is that the photographer carefully constructs the photograph (using light, shadow, color, setting, etc.) in much the same way that the fiction writer constructs a scene in a chapter. Both use their respective media to tell a story, and both use lies to tell a deeper truth. Luca acknowledges how much artifice goes into making art when he explains to Ian that the “photographer must make a decision. He must decide what his subject looks like before he takes the picture. We have to decide what we want to see….What do you want to see? What do you want your world to be?” Of course, Luca’s explanation of how to be a good photographer could just as easily be applied to the question of how to live one’s life in an authentic manner.

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The Photographer's Truth

When fate takes a wrong turn, even a romance written in the stars can be destroyed.

Soul mates from preschool, Dana Ryan and Keri Flemons are separated by tragedy when they are eight years old. Twenty years later, fate throws them together again. Dana is a retired pro-soccer player and a rookie sports photographer, and Keri has reluctantly assumed control of a professional football team after her father's untimely death. When Keri offers Dana a position as a photographer for a team project, an opportunity that would make her career, Dana is faced with the challenge of working with the woman whom she holds personally responsible for most of the heartbreak in her life. Despite their rocky history, as time passes their attraction grows—until the past resurfaces to threaten the shape of their future.

Childhood friends Imogen and Amahle couldn't come from more different backgrounds. One privileged and the other little more than a slave, yet they thought nothing could tear their friendship apart. But a changing political landscape and an uncertain future cast Imogen into a lonely world away from everything and everyone she knows, and by the time she returns to Africa, everything has changed.

Betrayal, deceit, and anger are the currency of the day, and it is a far cry from the life Imogen wants to lead.When Amahle's family is caught up in the middle of a bitter legal battle, she fights for what she believes is right. But what happens when those you believe in let you down? What happens when friend becomes foe and your world turns upside down? What can be built from the ashes of betrayal?

Poppy Valente has the world in the palm of her hand until fate steals from her the one thing that matters most—her wife Carly. When breast cancer ends their life together, Poppy finds herself at a loss as to how to begin to live again. Julia Johnson is running to Carly's Sound with her newborn daughter Tallulah in search of the path to her future. On a chance meeting two years after Carly's death, these two women form a bond of friendship that lays the foundation for something more.

Seventeen-year-old Raven Walker has never had a boyfriend. She's never really been interested in boys. But she was always too afraid to examine what that might mean. Until she meets Morgan O'Shea and finds herself inexplicably drawn to her.

As their friendship develops, Raven is forced to face the possibility that her interest in Morgan might actually be attraction and that she might be gay.

Acknowledging the possibility opens Raven's world to the excitement of her first romance, but it also leaves her struggling to come to terms with her sexuality and the impact it will have on her relationships with her family and friends.

Diana Collins charges at life with an irreverent comment and a right hook, but even her hard-headed attitude may not be enough to protect her heart...or her life.

As a senior investigator for a high-end insurance company, Diana searches for the person responsible for the theft of several rare weapons. Diana struggles to protect her burgeoning relationship with kindergarten teacher Cami Michaelson, as the investigation leads her into a bitter world of rage and revenge. Diana uncovers one damning piece of evidence after another that challenges everything she knows about right and wrong. She finds her hard-driving work ethic, which demands the thief be held accountable, at odds with the desire to protect her new friend, Ali Sandoval, who is caught in the center of the conflict. As Diana is drawn deeper into a dark subculture of sex, power, and death, Ali must choose between vengeance and peace as she struggles to escape with her sanity intact.

Molly O'Brien is a sweetheart. Her friends and neighbors all think so. While she enjoys her quiet life running the town bakeshop in Applewood, Illinois, she wonders if there could be more. After losing the love of her life four years prior in a plane crash, Molly thinks she's ready to navigate the dicey dating waters once again. However, you can't always pick who your heart latches on to. When Jordan Tuscana, the beautiful younger sister of her lost love, returns to town, Molly finds her interest piqued in a manner she wasn't prepared for.

As secrets are uncovered, Molly and Jordan must figure out how to navigate the difficult terrain of their multi-faceted relationship. Especially when something much deeper seems to be bubbling between them.

The Photographer's Truth is the second standalone novel from author Ralph Josiah Bardsley and is the story of two men who unexpectedly meet and whose lives are irrevocably changed from the time forward.

This is my second Ralph Josiah Bardsley read, his first one, Brothers, evoking emotions through his simple yet passionate prose, and so far, it appears as if the author can do no wrong. This is a story layered in complexities, and it may not be for everyone, especially since one of the main characters happens to be married with children when he and the other main character meet. I do, however, encourage you to set aside whatever preconceived notions you may have and give the book a chance, not only because of the admirable quality of writing but because of the deeper and more intriguing tale it tells.

Ian's life appears to be the kind others would envy, an ideal others aspire to reach. His job as a software programmer lands him a project that takes him to Paris and away from his wife and children for three months. There he meets Luca, a fashion photographer whose reputation lives on even though he no longer practices his craft for his own personal reasons. The two bond and form a friendship, one that soon develops into something more, something that threatens the normalcy and balance that they've enjoyed and cherished. The lives they've gotten used to could be lost to both of them forever, especially Ian, who has more than himself to consider. The choice is not an easy one to make. Does he choose to be honest with himself and live the life that makes him happiest or does Ian choose the life that is expected of him?

There's something about Ralph Josiah Bardsley's writing that simply works for me. There's nothing easy about what his main characters go through, each one in stuck in the middle of crossroads and forced to choose which path they're to take. Ian and Luca are complicated characters, with dark pasts that neither one wishes to acknowledge but they're there in the shadows, still haunting them. Whatever decision Ian has to make in the story leaves someone behind, ending a life with the person he's with. Does he choose to be with his wife and children or does he choose to be with the man who has awoken the real him?

This isn't your typical story with a happily-ever-after that has everyone holding hands and singing "Kumbaya". It's real, its beauty lying beneath its painful truths. I'm giving The Photographer's Truth five out of five stars. ♥

Reviewed by Dog-Eared Daydreams

I wish the author had already written more books because I can't wait to read what he comes up with next.

By Netgalley.com on Jul 10, 2016 03:07

...When I read the author's first book, Brothers, earlier this year, I already recognized what a wonderfully talented writer he is, so I jumped at the chance to read The Photographer's Truth. Although it didn't seem possible, it sounded even more fascinating to me. I fear you'll have to read a lot of quotes in this review ;-) I just couldn't choose...

Ian lives that line between lost and alive. When he was a student he once set out to live a unique life after his own making, but he somehow missed his chance and took fear's path instead like so many of us do. He now has a good job in San Francisco, he is married, and he's got two great teenage sons, doesn't miss a thing and is quite happy. He nestled himself into this predictable and comfortable life. However, when a job takes him to Paris for several month, this life is disturbed and he loses his footing. He goes to Paris to help prepare Môti fashion house set up a museum. The attic was a glimpse into what the world was like at different points in the past—what people dressed like, what they found beautiful, how they viewed life. As one of the first fashion houses of the 1900s, photos of Môti collections started to appear in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar as early as the late teens. Môti clothed the elite of post war Europe, showing up on everyone from wandering Russian aristocracy to jazz hall starlets and British expats.

It is in this setting that he meets famous photographer Luca Sparks. I’ve listened to people talk about Paris, either directly to me or in overheard conversations, and the sense of mysticism is universal, though some smile happily when they talk about memories of Paris and others seem to wane and grow smaller, as if eclipsed by some trace of fear or passion. Paris finds what is deep inside us and steers us on a path towards it, for she is the goddess of coincidence. We can bury what we like, but things have a way of surfacing on their own there, as the city brings people together on the wind of chance encounters.

The friendship and later love that springs from this chance encounter is both beautiful and hard to witness. We spent a lot of time with Ian and Luca getting to know each other; meeting in cafés, enjoying Paris's night life, talking about life, the world and everything. But while they both awaken something lost in each other, it comes with a lot of guilt on Ian's side as well. I really-- like Really-- appreciate that the fact that Ian is cheating on his wife is not glossed over. In fact, his relationship and time with his family was so real that it partly hurt to read, because losing your partner of so many years - for whatever reason - can happen to everyone, and I found this to be most realistic and relatable. I felt with Ian and thought his struggle was very understandable.

However... I was not who I had built myself to be. I was someone else. Luca had awakened that, and now it would never rest. The end of the book was so very fitting and I like at which point the author leaves us. It's a happy ending, though not, in any way, a fairytale-like one. This is a wonderful book. I found it to be touching - I smiled and cried - and I think that it is very, very romantic. The Parisian setting is idyllic and palpable, the themes of photography and identity prominent and interesting. Because of its beauty, the writing both lulls me in and gets me excited. I wish the author had already written more books because I can't wait to read what he comes up with next. In case you were wondering... Highly Recommended!